• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.152-158
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• 2007

Micromorphological and chemical characteristics of living Castanea spp. and Tamarix spp. attacked by a brown-rot fungus were examined. Micromorphological features of brown-rotted hardwood species were similar to those observed in softwoods such as losses in birefringence under polarized microscopy, preferential degradation of $S_2$ layer and cracks in the $S_3$ layer. Thinning of the secondary cell wall in fibers was also observed, although it did not seem to be the main symptom. FT-IR analysis showed that bands assigned to cellulose and hemicelluloses decreased or disappeared, whereas the bands assigned to lignin increased. X-ray diffraction analysis exhibited the decrease of relative crystallinity, indicating that degradation of hardwood by a brown-rot fungus was in the advanced stages.